FIRST TEAM || Gianni Caretti & Tawab Taufiq return to Athelstone Recreation Reserve to finish the 20

Eastern United FC is delighted to announce the signing of Tawab Taufiq & Gianni Caretti for the reminder of the 2023 season.

Gianni Caretti, 23, who left the club in December 2022 to explore further opportunities elsewhere has now returned to the club.
Gianni Caretti started his football at local club Metrostars SC in Klemzig at the age of 8, years later he moved to Eastern Unites, played his youth football at the club, as well as making his First Team debut at the age of 16-years-old in 2016 against Gawler Eagles FC. He then moved to Italy to Pursue is Football and returned to the club in 2021.
He made over 46 league appearances and 4 cup appearances, his 50th game was in round 22 against Modbury Jets SC.


Photo courtesy of Adam Butler

Tawab Taufiq, 22, was born in 1999 in Sydney, NSW.
He moved to South Australia to join the Saints ahead of the 2022 season; An attacking minded player, Taufiq is capable of playing in any of the forwards positions.
Tawab's love for the game started at the age of 5 thanks to his brother who consistently played with him after school hours. He started playing club football at the age of 6 for the Granville Waratahs, where he stayed until the age of 11.
He then moved to Merrylands FC to play U12's and soon moved onto North Sydney United where he stayed until he turned 15.


Photo courtesy of Eastern United Media Department T 

In 2015, he moved to NPL2 club Fraser Park with an opportunity later in that year to trial overseas for several clubs including  Monza, Lugano FC and Ingolstadt.
Upon his return to Australia he continued his development with highly valued youth academy at Central Coast Mariners.
He subsequently received a trial from the Sydney FC Academy, where he spent 6 months playing his trade.
At the age of 20, he moved to NPL2 outfit Bulleen Lions FC, were he made his senior debut against Northcote City. In the same year, Bulleen Lions reached the round of 32 of the FFA Cup and made the play off final to reach NPL1. They were denied the opportunity to play NPL1 by Dandenong Thunder.
After a year in Victoria he moved to and had a short stint for Coolong FC.
After a few months he moved back to Victoria but this time signed to play NPL1 football for Port Melbourne Sharks.
In 2021, he signed for the Saints but due to injuries he only  made it on the park on three occasions, our 2-2 draw with league leaders White City, the 3-0 away win over Western Strikers and 8-0 defeat at the hands of Playford Patriots.


Photo courtesy of Eastern United Media Department 

Coach Gabriel Markaj had this to say about our new signings:
"Tawab is our x-factor, he can be so useful to us, especially on the big pitches because he has the quality to get in behind and lightning speed not to be caught. While Gianni Caretti is a fan favourite and his return will add an extra layer of depth into our backline considering that Godfrey Okello has been hit with injuries this season and and our lack our goals has prompted us to play Ale and Franz a top leaving our backline a bit exposed. There is 5 games left and we must find enough points to avoid relegation."